Recently, Germany approved more online gaming licences. A total of nine licenses were approved, bringing the total number of licences to twelve. Since online gaming was only approved in July 2021, this comes as exciting news for players. Following this, more companies and sites will be given the go signal to operate. For online poker players, this means an increase in platforms to choose from as well as more freedom to play.
With the online poker industry growing in popularity let’s take a look at what else online poker has in store for the rest of the year and beyond:
A Growing Mobile Poker Market
Since there are more opportunities for playing online poker this year, it only makes sense that more will be interested in participating. The reason behind this includes mobile poker’s accessibility and the increasing interest in social online games. It’s much easier to play on a mobile device compared to a laptop since it’s more convenient and portable, and players can now play poker on an increasing number of platforms.
Zynga Poker is one of the best poker apps around and is available on Apple and Windows, as well as Facebook. This allows users to play and connect with their friends over the social network, which in turn widens the reach and target market of online poker. Last year, Zynga’s revenue grew by 59% resulting in a record of $720 million (€709 million). As this increased demand shows, the mobile poker market is growing rapidly.
The Use Of Virtual Reality Technology
Virtual reality (VR) has been integrated into both the entertainment and gaming industries. This is because they make games more engaging and immersive for the players. And VR is now set to change online poker as well.
The poker site PokerStars introduced its own VR version of online poker in 2018 and it can be used by anyone at present as long as they have a VR headset. The Oculus line of VR products, in particular, are the most suitable for this program. This is so players can experience authentic poker in action, stunning casino environments, and realistic game movements, as the company promises. These features will entice online poker players, as it will allow them to play the VR version for a more realistic gaming experience.
More Big Prize Money Online Poker Tournaments
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the European Poker Tour, two of the biggest poker events, now offer online tournaments. This year the WSOP included 14 online bracelet events in its schedule. It has been observed that there are more participants this year compared to other years . It may even beat the all-time record in 2006 of 8,773 attendees. The prize pools for these tournaments have been reported to be bigger and better moving forward to satisfy the growing number of players. This demonstrates how online poker is no longer considered the lesser version of the game by professional bodies, and will signal a shift to more big money online tournaments.
Playing Poker In The Metaverse
The metaverse is not to be confused with VR. It’s a virtual world where users can explore and interact with virtual spaces and services. True, it can be accessed through many technologies including VR, but they are not the same. The rise of the metaverse was driven by Facebook’s announcement of its involvement with the metaverse. Many industries are looking into doing the same, including online poker.
Gaming group Etain—which owns several gaming brands including partypoker—is planning to invest £108 million (€127 million) to develop a more immersive gaming experience. They will create new entertainment products for the metaverse. These include VR and augmented reality experiences and non-fungible tokens. As these continue to develop, online poker players this year can expect not only to play in the metaverse, but also attend poker events like tournaments.
As the online poker community grows, the industry provides several innovations to satisfy players. Keep your eye out for these trends this year to get the best possible experiences. If you liked this piece, do check out our other gaming articles.
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